Astrology | Week of April 21, 2011

ARIES March 21-April 19: Now comes one of the supreme tests that most every Aries must periodically face: Will you live up to your promises? Will you follow through on your rousing start? Will you continue to stay passionately committed once the fiery infatuation stage evolves into the earthy foundation-building stage? Here’s a secret to succeeding at this test: You can’t just try to force yourself to “be good” and do the right thing. Nor does it work to use shame or guilt to motivate yourself. Somehow you’ve got to marshal pure, raw excitement for the gritty detail work to come. You’ve got to fall in love with the task of actually fleshing out your dreams.

TAURUS April 20-May 20: In his book on intuition, psychologist David G. Myers defines it as “the capacity for direct knowledge and immediate insight, without any observation or reason.” Another expert on the subject, Malcolm Gladwell, describes intuition as the “power of thinking without thinking.” Both authors encourage us to cultivate this undersung way of grasping our raw experience. But Myers also warns us of the perils of intuition if it’s untempered by logic and analysis. It can lead us down rabbit holes where we lose track of the difference between our fantasies and the real world. It can cause us to mistake our fears for accurate ESP or get lost in a maze of self-fulfilling prophecies. I bring all of this to your attention, Taurus, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to hone and purify your intuition.

GEMINI May 21-June 20: One of the most impressive elements of the Egyptian uprising in January and February came after it was all over. Eighteen days of street protests created a huge mess in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and the surrounding area. When Hosni Mubarak finally resigned and reforms began percolating, thousands of demonstrators returned with brooms and rubber gloves and garbage bags to set the place back in order. I urge you to follow a similar sequence in the coming weeks, Gemini. Agitate for change; rebel against the stale status quo; fight corruption and ignorance; and once your work has led to at least a partial success, clean up after yourself.

CANCER June 21-July 22: “Sometimes nature seems more beautiful than strictly necessary,” said physicist Steven Weinberg as he admired a hackberry tree stoked with blue jays, yellowthroated vireos, and a red cardinal. You may find yourself thinking similar thoughts in the coming week, Cancerian. From what I can tell, life is primed to flood you with simple glories and exotic revelations, with signs of eternal splendor and hints of sublime meaning, with natural wonders and civilization’s more interesting gifts.

LEO July 23-Aug. 22: I became an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church when I was 19 years old. Since then I have officiated at numerous baptisms, initiations, weddings (including marrying people to themselves), divorces, renamings, housewarmings, ghost-banishings, and the taking of primal vows. In all my years of facilitating these ceremonies, I’ve rarely seen a better time than right now for you Leos to seek a cathartic rite of passage. You may even be tempted to try several. I recommend you do no more than two, however. Are you ready to break a taboo or smash an addiction? Renounce a delusion or pledge your devotion or leap to the next level?

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22: It would be an excellent time for you to acquire the Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness Kit, a package of goodies prepared by domestic expert Martha Stewart. I say this not because a Zombie Apocalypse is looming, or any other kind of apocalypse for that matter. Rather, the kit’s presence in your life might encourage you to make fun of your fears. And that would be a perfect way to cooperate with the current cosmic tendencies, which are conspiring to diminish the inhibitions that your anxieties hold in place. Remember one of the key rules in the game of life: Humor dissipates worry.

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22: Eighty years ago, an explorer who visited the Maori of New Zealand found they had such good eyesight that many were able to detect Jupiter’s four largest moons with their naked eyes. That’s the kind of vision you could have in the coming days, Libra — metaphorically speaking, at least. The astrological omens say you have the potential to see further and deeper into any part of reality you choose to focus on. Inner truths that have been hidden from you are ready to be plucked by your penetrating probes. For best results, cleanse your thoughts of expectations. Perceive what’s actually there, not what you want or don’t want to be there.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21: You really should ventilate your house periodically, even when the weather’s cool. The air indoors gets stale; you need to flush it out and welcome in some fresh stuff. In my astrological opinion, it’s especially important for you to do this right now. So please consider opening all the windows for a while and inviting the breezes to blow through. In addition to its practical value for your respiratory system, it could serve as a ritual that gently blows the dusty crud out of your mind, thereby improving the circulation in your thoughts and emotions and fantasies.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21: What do you like most about work? What are the pleasurable experiences that happen for you when you’re engaged in demanding tasks that require you to be focused, competent and principled? I think it’s important for you to identify those hard-earned joys and then brainstorm about what you can do to expand and intensify them. You’re in a phase of your long-term cycle when you can make a lot of headway toward transforming your job situation so it serves you better.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19: The next phase of your life will be an excellent time to un-break your heart. Here’s what I mean by that: You will have extra power to dissolve any pain that still lingers from the romantic disappointments of the past. You’ll be able to summon acute insights into how to dismantle the sodden and unnecessary defenses you built to protect yourself from loss and humiliation. You will find it easier than ever before to forgive and forget any close companion who hurt you. So get out there, Capricorn, and launch the joyful process of restoring your love muscles to their original potency.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18: “Search For Self Called Off After 38 Years,” read the headline in The Onion. “I always thought that if I kept searching and exploring, I’d discover who I truly was,” the report began, quoting 38-year-old Andrew Speth. “Well, I looked deep into the innermost recesses of my soul, and you know what I found? An empty, windowless room the size of an aircraft hangar. From now on, if anybody needs me, I’ll be sprawled out on my couch drinking black-cherry soda and watching Law & Order like everybody else.” I wonder if Speth is an Aquarius? Many of my Aquarian acquaintances seem to have hit a dead end recently in their quest to fulfill the ancient maxim “Know thyself.” If you’re like that, please hang on. The floodgates of self-discovery will open soon.

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20: Odds are high that you know very little about Africa. Can you name even 20 of its more than 50 countries? Are you aware that its land mass is bigger than Europe, China, and the U.S. combined? Did you realize that about 2,000 languages are spoken by the people living there? I bring this up, Pisces, because from an astrological perspective it’s an excellent time for you to fill the gaps in your education about Africa — or any other subject about which you are deeply uninformed. Don’t get overwhelmed by this assignment, though. Choose maybe three areas of ignorance that you will concentrate on in the coming weeks.